According to the Clinical Definition of Paraphilic Mental Disorders, Muhammad Was…

According to U.S. medical and mental health professionals, and the clinical definitions they use to diagnose and classify mental disorders, two key facts become quite clear about Islam.

From what Muhammad says in the Qur’an, and from what is taught in the Hadith, according to the clinical definition of paraphilic disorders,

Muhammad was a pedophile, and

Islam advocates, condones, and instructs pedophilia within the context of marriage.

Of the three categories of paraphilic disorders, this article only addresses pedophilia.

The U.S. Medical Community

Within the U.S. medical community exist numerous organizations and associations of professionals who share their research to study and treat various ailments of the human body and mind. One organization, the American Psychiatric Association (APA), is a national medical society with more than 36,000 physician members who specialize in the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and research of mental illnesses.

Their research and contribution to the field of mental health includes a manual that every medical and mental health professional uses in the United States when diagnosing and treating mental disorders: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).The latest edition is DSM-5, which the APA published in 2013. The DSM-5 provides the official diagnostic classification list of mental disorders and their associated diagnostic codes, according to the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Edition, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM).

According to the APA and DSM-5, a Paraphilic Disorder is defined as a “sexual deviation” comprised of three categories. An adult suffering from a paraphilic disorder expresses recurrent, intense, sexually arousing fantasies, and sexual urges or behaviors that either manifest in one or all three of the following acts. They generally involve:

The sexual deviation of paraphilia, according to the DSM-IV-TR criteria (302.2) known as pedophilia, exists among adults who express the following behavior:

Over a period of at least six months, recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors involving sexual activity with a prepubescent child or children (generally age 13 years or younger).

The person has acted on these sexual urges, or the sexual urges or fantasies caused marked distress or interpersonal difficulty.

The person is at least age 16 years and at least 5 years older than the child or children in Criterion 1.

The APA writes that pedophiliac activity may involve:

“… undressing and looking at the child or more direct physical sex acts. All these activities are psychologically harmful to the child, and some may be physically harmful. In addition, individuals with pedophilia often go to great lengths to obtain photos, films or pornographic publications that focus on sex with children.

“These individuals commonly explain their activities with excuses or rationalizations that the activities have ‘educational value’ for the child, that the child feels ‘sexual pleasure’ from the activities or that the child was ‘sexually provocative.’ However, child psychiatrists and other child development experts maintain that children are incapable of offering informed consent to sex with an adult. Furthermore, since pedophiliac acts harm the child, psychiatrists condemn publications or organizations that seek to promote or normalize sex between adults and children.”

Islam

Like the APA, Islam applies the teachings of the Qur’an and what are called, “sahih hadiths.” An Islamic scholar, Muhammad al-Bukhari (Muhammad Ibn Ismail Ibn Ibrahim Ibn al-Mughirah Ibn Bardizbah al-Bukhari), collected narrations of events that took place concerning Muhammad. He identified a set of criteria to determine if a narration was authentic, and those considered authentic are called “ahadith.” The hadith comprise one aspect of Shari’a law.

According to one of the ahadith, Sahih Muslim 8:3310, Islam teaches that when Muhammad was 54 years-old, he married his favorite, and last wife, Aisha, when she was six years-old. Aisha recounts that:

“Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) married me when I was six years old, and I was admitted to his house when I was nine years old.”

Aisha recounts her story of when Muhammad consummated their marriage, when she was 9 years-old:

“My mother came to me while I was being swung on a swing between two branches and got me down. My nurse took over and wiped my face with some water and started leading me. When I was at the door she stopped so I could catch my breath. I was brought in while Muhammad was sitting on a bed in our house. My mother made me sit on his lap. The other men and women got up and left. The Prophet consummated his marriage with me in my house when I was nine years old. Neither a camel nor a sheep was slaughtered on behalf of me.” (Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, p. 131).

Scholars point to the fact that Aisha played with dolls, and that she was a pre-pubescent girl. This is significant, because under Islam, any girl who has gone through puberty is no longer considered a child, but a woman, and is forbidden from playing with dolls or having any “images.”

Shaykh al-Islam Imam Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar Al-‘Asqalani, “Commander of the Faithful in Hadith,” Qadi of Egypt, explained in his commentary on Sahih Bukhari, “Fateh al-Bari,” that Aisha played with dolls in the presence of Muhammad and played with her girl friends. He writes:

“The playing with the dolls and similar images is forbidden, but it was allowed for ‘Aisha at that time, as she was a little girl, not yet reached the age of puberty.) (Fateh-al-Bari page 143, Vol.13; Sahih Bukhari 8:73:151.)

“‘A’isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported that Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) married her when she was seven years old, and he was taken to his house as a bride when she was nine, and her dolls were with her; and when he (the Holy Prophet) died she was eighteen years old.”

Some Islamists argue that Muhammad did not have sexual intercourse with Aisha. Instead, they argue that Muhammad and Aisha symbolically performed a nikah ceremony.

But the Qur’an, which uses the word ‘nikah’ for marriage, is understood and defined as involving the literal act of sexual intercourse. Under Islamic law, sexual intercourse solidifies the civil contract of marriage. Nikah makes sex legal. Any sexual relations outside of a nikah contract would be considered a crime subject to punishment.

“It is generally accepted that Aisha was betrothed to Muhammad at the age of 6 in the year 3 BH. This is confirmed by reports that the marriage was consummated in Shawwal, which came seven months after the Prophet’s hijra from Makkah to al-Medinah.”

In light of the documentation provided by Islamic scholars and the teachings associated with it, and the clinical definitions of paraphilic disorders, Muhammad was indeed a pedophile. Even applying the strictest terms of the DSM-5 criteria, Muhammad:

was sexually involved with Aisha for nine years, when she was 9-18 years-old (meeting Criteria 1 above),

acted on his sexual urges with a pre-pubescent girl (meeting Criteria 2 above),

met the age range specified in Criteria 3 above; he was 54 when he had sex with nine-year-old Aisha.

In an effort to model the life of Muhammad, Islamists institute marriages with prepubescent girls that are both temporary and permanent.

Bethany Blankley is a political analyst for Fox News Radio and has appeared on television and radio programs nationwide. She writes about political, cultural, and religious issues in America from the perspective of an evangelical and former communications staffer. She was a communications strategist for four U.S. Senators, one U.S. Congressman, a former New York governor, and several non-profits. She earned her MA in Theology from The University of Edinburgh, Scotland and her BA in Political Science from the University of Maryland. Follow her @bethanyblankley facebook.com/BlankleyBethany/ & BethanyBlankley.com.